Stray cat
by LovelyDemon
Summary: He had always hated cats, since that one awful day... but he wondered... what made this one cat so special?
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Pandora Hearts. **

**For these who know me... ^^' well I have this habit of when I don't like my story, I'll simply delete it to re-write it again or forget about it... for now I like this story very much, so I hope this one will be different... ^^'**

**This will be: Ozbert, meaning Gil x Oz. Boy x Boy, don't like... don't read. This means also for the people that don't like this story, if you don't like it feel free to leave... I seriously don't get why people read a story that they don't like and then tell the author this. This story is only for people that do like it... Not to be rude or anything... but saying 'I don't like your story' is very demotivating. **

**But for these who do like it, YEY! Love you! :D I will try to update as best as I can... just like I'll work on my other stories! That's all, I guess... if you have any questions will free to ask! I don't bite. **

**And since I'm from Belgium, English isn't my first language and they don't teach me English at my school so I had to learn it on my own... So that's why it's not that great so please do tell me if you see a spelling error and I'll correct as fast as I can! **

**Enjoy! **

**LovelyDemon**

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It happened a lot that people asked him why he hated cats, he would simply shrug and mutter something like 'because they're evil', but never did he tell you the real story. The story of when he was fourteen and on his way home, summer vacation had just started and he came back from his boarding school in France, Latowidge academy. On his way he got attacked by these creatures… they weren't normal cats… the small and cute little fur bars. No, these were half human half animal creatures. He had been a weak and small boy at that time and couldn't defend himself. The reason why they attacked him? Because he was a Nightray, and Nightray liked dogs more then cats… and since that day he understood why. Since that day on he had been scared to death from these beings… and as he grew older he simply hated them, he was no longer scared of them but despised them.

Though there was one exception, one cat-like creature he could never hate.

He had met him on an rainy day, he was on his way back from the Nightray mansion to his apartment, he forgot his umbrella at home but didn't care… he never really minded the rain. He lived in what he called a nook in a nook of the beautiful city Lebleux. There lived a lot of dark creatures there, the scum, creatures nobody wanted to come near to together with the people nobody wanted to come near with. Where he lived weren't a lot of cat like creatures, they liked the beautiful places more… cats believed they were royalty after all.

Maybe the reason why he liked this one stray cat so much was because he found him there; other creatures like him had chased him to this place and led him into a dark alley. At that time he hadn't really see if he was one of them, it had happened to fast and he wondered… would he still have saved him if he knew?

He could easily scare the other cats away with one shot of his gun, the cat that he had saved lay in an corner, he had made himself as small as possible which was in his case not that hard. He could remember that he thought he was death, after all the small boy didn't move… nor did it react when he walked closer to him. It didn't take long before he understood it had simply lost conscious.

He tried to wake him up but he didn't respond. He wore a dark hoodie that day, so that his hero couldn't see what he hid under that hoodie. His tail had been hidden in his shorts.

Not knowing what to do with the boy, he simply carried him to his apartment, to clean up his wounds… the moment he removed the hoodie he couldn't deny he was shocked. He thought about dumping the stray cat back where it belonged… but he must have done something to make the other creatures just like him really angry… besides this poor boy looked so fragile, there was no way he could just leave him like that.

So he simply cleaned his wounds and put bandages on them and let the cat sleep on his bed. It didn't make any sounds and he could remember every hour going to his room to check if he was still alive…

After a few hours he had dozed off on the sofa… and the next morning the cat was still there.

He woke up in the late afternoon, maybe by the scent of Gil's coffee… he didn't know and it would take a while before he would tell him anyway.

He slowly opened the door of his bedroom and looked around the apartment. When Gilbert looked up from that sound he couldn't help but stare at him in shock… the cat looked adorable in the too big shirt and short boxers. His tail swung from side to side as his ears turned to every possible direction where he heard sound coming. But what caught his breath were his eyes, these emerald orbs that looked so intelligent. From the moment their eyes met the cat like creature took a step back, his tail went down and Gilbert could see the hairs standing up straight… how he wished he understood that language… it was later that he understood the poor cat was scared.

He was lucky though that he had saved a half human-half cat creature, so that the first thing that came up in him was that he must be scared. Any human being would be scared if they found themselves in a strange house. He was a fool for believing he would be alright with just his knowledge of humanity, it would have saved him a lot of awkward situations.

He had never been good in calming people down, so he simply decided to make himself clear. "You got hurt," he explained, not sure if the cat-like-boy heard him. "I simply brought you here and cleaned your wounds…" he glanced at the boy and could see he indeed looked at his left arm where one of the cats had scratched him.

The raven sighed and rubbed the back of his head, not sure what to do… he could just let the boy go. His clothes were clean, he could give them back and then the boy could just leave. "Uhm… are you hungry?" he then asked the boy, he once again glanced at him and saw that the boy had been gazing at him… these beautiful emerald orbs seemed to see everything… he had heard that cats looked very intelligent, but others told him that was where it stopped… they looked smart and acted all mighty but actually they weren't that smart.

"Can you talk?" Gilbert then asked, "I'm Gilbert," he said and pointed at himself, "What's yours?"

Yeah… he started to believe what people told him was true, the boy just kept staring at him. Not a single response,

"I guess it's only normal for a cat to not know how to talk…" he finally said and stood up, not seeing the frown on the cat's eyes, the boy had heard him. But if it was a frown of confusion or a frown of anger… who could tell?

"Uhm I don't really know what you like to eat," Gilbert spoke and opened his fridge, "That is… if you want to eat… I mean if you want to leave that's fine for me as-" he stopped, when he had turned his head the boy no longer stood in the door opening from his room but now sat silently on his kitchen table. He felt himself freeze, not liking it that the cat was so close to him… he wasn't scared anymore, but he still didn't trust him. His gaze felt on the boy's hand, to check his claws… noticing that they didn't look sharp at all… they looked like normal nails… yesterday he hadn't paid much attention to it, all he remembered was that the cat had been very dirty.

"I bought some fish… and milk," he looked over his shoulder to see the cat's reaction, he seemed happy to hear that. So he liked fish and milk?

He handed him a bottle with milk and watched how the boy easily opened it, these emerald orbs glanced at him and he then sniffed… he really was like a cat. The boy took a sip from it, he seemed to like the taste of it and kept drinking until it was empty. He seemed happy and his eyes were half open as he made a soft purring sound.

He then gazed with big curious at Gilbert, the Nightray a bit confused handed him the fish… from the moment the cat saw that the fish his eyes were wide open again his tail went still.

"You don't like fish?" Gilbert then asked,

Though the cat did not nod nor shook his head, he could tell by the look on his face he did not like it. "I always thought cats liked fish…"

He turned back around to see what else he got so did not notice the cat roll his eyes as he looked around the kitchen, to the small being it all looked very boring.

"Uhm… I can make eggs, if that is what you like?" he asked and glanced over his shoulders at the cat… he felt stupid, the cat just looked at him in an curious way… probably not understanding a single word he said.

"Fine, fine… I think Break left some pie. Eat that then!"

Cats didn't like sweets, he remembered Break saying that… so he seriously had no idea why he gave the cat a piece of pie… but the cat didn't complain. In fact he sniffed… then seemed content and started eating.

"Alright," he spoke, "You're clothes are on the sofa…" he said and pointed at a bundle of clothes, the cat followed his finger and so noticed it as well, but he then continued eating with what looked like a bored expression while purring just softly.

It was actually very cute to see, Gilbert thought as he sat down across the cat. "So… you really can't talk, huh…" he spoke, the cat looked up, probably from the sound of his voice. "…You're not wearing an collar… so I can't tell your name," he sighed… "Do you even have a name?" he glanced at the clothes, they were well made… so the boy probably came from a wealthy house, maybe he even had an owner. Or he might have just stolen these clothes. "Can you write?" Gilbert then asked, he stood up again to grab some paper and pencils, when he found them he lay them down on the table… but the boy only glanced at it once before gazing back at him, he had finished his pie… so just kept where he was. Gilbert sighed, he picked up the pencil and wrote something down, he then handed the cat the piece of paper. By the way he saw his eyes scan the paper if looked like he actually read what was written on it… '_Name_?'

The cat slowly picked up the pencil, he knew how it worked by the sight of it… the cat seemed to think about what he should write… then he put the pencil back down and offered Gilbert a sheepish grin. As if he was trying to say 'I'm sorry'. The raven couldn't hide the disappointment then, he had actually hoped the boy would write something down.

"Fine then," he let out an annoyed sigh, "I guess it can't be helped then…"

He watched how the boy stood up and walked to the sofa, slowly starting to undress so that he could wear his old clothes again. A simple white shirt, a black hoodie, black shorts, black socks and black shoes. The colors didn't suit him Gilbert thought, green would look better on him. The cat must have noticed him staring because he looked over his shoulders at him, the taller man quickly looked away while blushing just slightly. Not noticing the boy walking back to the kitchen and picking up the plate he had used, Gilbert then looked up… surprised to see the cat was cleaning up the mess he made. He looked at the clothes that lay down on the sofa… the boy had tried to fold them, he had done a very bad job… but at least he tried.

"It's fine, I'll clean that up later…" he said when the cat wanted to clean his dishes,

He was surprised the cat stopped with doing whatever he was doing to look at him, had he understood him? The cat then walked back to the kitchen table and sat down on it, he liked the table more then his chair.

Gilbert tried to ask him what he liked to do, he didn't had much in his house to amuse someone… especially a teenager. But the cat just kept on the table, Gilbert had opened the door to go outside to see if the boy wanted to leave but the creature only gave him a curious look when he did that.

Had it decided to stay?

Gilbert didn't really know what he had to do with him, he actually liked his presence and he was afraid something would happen to him if he let him go… so maybe keeping him for a while wouldn't be too bad. He could ask Break tomorrow at work if he wanted to help him, the hatter probably knew what to do with him. For the rest of the day he did what he usually did, cleaned up… though this time there was a cat following him where ever he went… and when he read a book and sat down on the sofa he was surprised the boy sat down next to him, looking over his shoulder at whatever he was reading.

"Do you understand this?" Gilbert asked curiously, handing him the book. He watched how the boy accepted it and then gently pulled the bookmark out of Gilbert's hands and put it in the book and closed it so that he could read the back of it.

"So you can read, but don't understand me talking?" Gilbert asked confused,

The cat looked up when he said that… maybe he did understand him but simply had no idea how to answer. He was actually surprised cats could read at all… he had never heard a cat talk, meaning they might just have the same vocal cords as an normal cat so that's why he could only make cat-like sounds.

The boy huffed,

"Wh-what?"

He shook his head and handed him back the book, it seemed that he didn't like it. He leaned on the other side of the sofa then, curling up in a small ball.

And that was that… after a while he fell back to sleep and Gilbert didn't bother to wake him up. When it was bedtime he put a blanket on the teen and went to bed. Tomorrow he had to go to work…


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Pandora Hearts.**

**This will be Ozbert, meaning Gil X Oz, boy x boy... don't like don't read. There will also be some Break x Sharon on it, maybe some Oz x Alice but you could say they simply have the same relationship as in the manga... ^^  
**

**It will also take a while before they get together ^^ first Oz has to get used to thenew area and new people will come into his life and then... DUN, DUN... not gonna say it :p **

**Enjoy and reviews make me happy! :D **

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It had been odd to wake up and prepare breakfast for two, especially because he didn't had much ingredients but his new companion only seemed happy with the toast and jam. Gilbert had promised him he would buy more food after work, not once did the thought of the cat leaving him cross his mind. The Nightray couldn't deny the fact that he liked his company and would probably be very sad if he would leave now. He knew it sounded stupid after all they had just met… but the boy didn't look nor act like he wanted to leave anyway so…

He sighed, he thought a bit too much about the cat he noticed while knocking on the door of the office from his colleague, he heard Break say something but didn't know what that was so simply entered the office. Seeing his colleague on the phone, an amused smile on his face as he listened to whatever the person was saying. "I see, thank you miss Kate. I'll tell duke Barma why duke Bezarius couldn't come to today's meeting, and next time call Reim, he's his secretary after all." He glanced at Gilbert, gave him one of his scary grins and gestured for him to sit down what the raven did as he waited for Break to finish his conversation with the personal servant from Duchess Bezarius, "Yes, I understand you only know this number but from what I remember Reim gave his one as well."

He laughed then, the woman must have said something the clown found very amusing… which must be something a normal person would see as 'stupid'. "Okay, wish her a speedy recovery from me, well then… bye-bye." He said and hung up,

"Is lady Cecile still sick?" Gilbert asked curiously,

"Sadly she is," Break sighed while rubbing his temple, he looked way older then he really was when he did that. The man did tend to act way older then he actually was, "Apparently three of her favorite pets has run away…"

"These chains?"

"Halflings how is she likes to call them," Break answered with an amused smile, "They're the same as these Halfling dogs you have at the Nightray mansion," he said with an amused smile while the doll on his shoulder laughed very loudly because of Gil's hate for cats. "Well they still have some time until she wakes up from her coma,"

"Again?" Gilbert sighed, Rachel Cecile had a terrible decease, she could go to bed and then won't wake up for days, weeks or even months… she needed to eat and drink enough if she wanted to stay awake but that was hard if she slept most of the time."

"So her cats ran away?" Gilbert then asked curiously, remembering the cat that he kept in his apartment, there was no way that this cat could be one of them, he lived half an day travel with carriage away from the Bezarius dukedom.

"Yes, three of her Vesalius kittens. A pity, they're very expensive,"

"Vesalius?"

"It's the name of their race, they're well known for their small posture, their intelligent green eyes, blond hair and soft voices…. They say even the nightingale would get jealous when they sing,"

Well his cat was mute, which was a relief to know.

"Though since lady Cecile got in an coma they're not allowed to sign anymore, otherwise Duke Bezarius cuts their vocal cords or if he's in a terrible mood he just cuts their tongue." Break then said as if reading his mind,

Gilbert's eyes widened when hearing that, if he had been drinking he would have spit everything out on Break's desk. Did he just hear that right?

Break had an amused sparkle in his eyes when seeing this reaction from his friend, he linked his fingers together and let his chin rest on them while looking at him with that oh so annoying 'I saw through your plan' smile. "Why the sudden interest in cats? Especially the Bezarius family their cats?"

Gilbert sighed, now he was the one rubbing his temple, "Uhm… what happens when they find them?"

"That depends on Lady Cecile, if she's awake she'll probably forgive them… if she's still asleep they'll have to beg for mercy… which will be hard if they can't talk." The hatter answered, even though Gilbert didn't like his sense of humor, he couldn't be more then grateful for having Break as his alley. Break didn't hesitate to give you information if he knew you could become handy while you'll had to pay Rufus Barma for information with other information… and he seriously had no idea what to tell that man. "Of course if someone finds them and brings them back they'll get a big reward…" he said with what looked like a bored expression as he pointed at the newspaper that lay at the corner of his desk, Gilbert picked it up and saw the news stood on the front page, a reward of $10.000.

"A-and… what if you try to hide them?"

"Death,"

He glanced at Break, noticing the amused smile he rolled his eyes, "Serious,"

"I am," Break chuckled, "If you try to hide them… well let's just say cats wouldn't let you hide them if they didn't trust you, so you'll first have to gain their trust if you want to hide them… that also means they'll get to like you… so just to ruin their day I wouldn't be surprised if Zai said they stole his cat and… well he's someone with a high name, that would mean instant death."

"Oh god…" the raven sighed, what had he gotten himself into this time? Here he just thought he had saved some stupid stray cat that because of some handicap could not talk.

"Don't tell me… my dear Gilbert-kun, are you hiding a very expensive cat perhaps?" the clown snickered, while Emily kept shouting 'Death'. They were lucky this office was build so that no one could hear them from the outside because Break was a detective from Pandora.

"I… I found him," he sighed, "I didn't know he was a Vesalius!"

Break smirked, though did not interrupt him and gestured for him to go on. What he did, "Some cats were following him… and he looked hurt so I… at first I didn't even notice he was a cat at all!"

"He wore a disguise?"

Gilbert nodded, "He wore simple clothes! No expensive clothes or anything like that…"

"Clever cat," Break spoke and stood up, "He must have changed clothes so that he wouldn't get recognized." He smiled at his friend, "You really are a fool, huh…"

"Shut-up…"

"So he's mute, I guess?"

Gilbert nodded, "He doesn't talk, though maybe he just refuses to talk. I don't know… he won't even tell me his name,"

Break picked up the newspaper, "Well it's either Eden, Snow or Oz…" he spoke, reading the names. "I wouldn't be surprised if he refuses to say his name, in case you would read the newspaper… neither would I be surprised that he has left by now."

His eyes widened when hearing that, he quickly got his phone out of his pocket and already called his telephone at home, ignoring Break who said something about him being mute.

No one picked up… voicemail. He sighed, "Hey it's me, just checking if you're still there… uhm pick up if you-"

He suddenly heard that all too familiar sound of someone picking up, he let out a sigh of relief. "So you're still here huh," he spoke and glanced at Break, the hatter seemed to be very interested. "Uhm… okay, I know you can't talk so just knock."

Break almost burst out in laughter when hearing that, he knew he must sound ridiculous but he seriously had no idea how he could talk with a mute boy. He knew the boy hesitated before he heard a soft knock. "Okay then I'll see you after work… don't break anything."

The boy let out a huff when hearing that,

"Okay, bye then."

The boy had hung up first,

"Well he's still there…" Break snickered,

"Knock, knock!" Emily laughed,

"Who's there?" Break asked his doll,

"Trouble," the doll laughed,

Break shrugged when hearing that and looked back at Gilbert who was still gazing at his cell phone, the albino raised both eyebrows when seeing that and then sighed. "So what are you going to do with him?"

"I'm not giving him back to that man, that's for sure!" Gilbert said and stood up, "I'm heading home,"

"Isn't that a bit too early?"

"Just tell them Vincent called,"

Break's smile easily faded away when hearing, he instead glared at Gilbert, and not liking the name he had just heard. Gilbert ignored this and just left.

Xxx

The cat greeted him with a big smile when he came home, his smile even became bigger when seeing the bag with food that Gilbert put on the kitchen table after ruffling his hair as a greeting. "I'm home," he spoke and smiled when seeing the boy nodded, as if saying 'Welcome home'.

"So how about pasta as dinner?"

The cat nodded again when hearing that, smiling brightly he seemed to be an in very good mood. Was he always like that? Gilbert wondered, this quiet little boy with such an innocent smile… did he really came from such a dark and cruel place? He wondered… but Gilbert decided to not ask him, not yet. He didn't want to scare the cat because of his curiosity… and wasn't he just like him in some way? When he had left the Nightray mansion that had been for a reason, he had wanted to leave his past life behind him, he had decided to no longer be that scared and weak boy but a full grown up man… wasn't this boy the same? Didn't he want to leave that past behind him? Though this kid didn't have the same luxury as him, he had money and a job so that he could rent this place… this kid still needed someone before he could really leave his past behind him.

He glanced at the boy while preparing food, noticing he was reading the recipe of the pasta he was making. The cat then looked around, trying to find something he could do to help.

"It's fine," he spoke, smiling when seeing the surprised look on the cat's face, "I'll prepare dinner for today, how about we'll make it tomorrow together? I'll come back earlier from work." It was strange, he sounded like he actually expected the cat to be still here the next day… but it wasn't like the cat really had any reason to leave anyway so…

He sighed and continued with the food, not noticing the curious look his companion gave him when he did that.

He got used to eating in silence, but he wondered if this cat perhaps… before loosing his voice had talked during breakfast, lunch or dinner… when glancing at him he could see how he gazed with what looked like a bored expression at his food and slowly eating while softly purring. Sometimes he could see these cat like ears move, as if they noticed a sound but nothing seemed interesting enough for him to look.

"So uhm…" he started, he saw how these ears moved to where his voice had come from and he immediately looked up, his eyes back to their normal size and he had stopped purring, giving him his full attention. "…I've been wondering… is there any way to have a normal conversation with you? I mean… do you know sing language?"

The boy lifted his hand, as if he wanted to say something but then just waved a fly away with an amused smile,

Gilbert sighed when seeing that, it was more of an annoyed sigh then a disappointed smile, he could hear the cat softly purring and when looking up he was surprised to see how happy the cat was. Did the boy like teasing him perhaps?

"Alright then… how about writing?"

Ah… he remembered asking that, the boy had done exactly the same as now, he would make a movement as if showing him that he could do it but at the end he would pull back with a sheepish grin… as if remembered he actually couldn't do it.

"I wonder…" he finally spoke, "Why you avoid communicating with me…"

He just offered him a sheepish grin,

"I guess I'll just have to find that out by myself, huh?"

Emerald eyes widened for just a bit before the boy smirked and nodded,

Xxx

"_Ah Snow there you are!" _

"_A-Are you an idiot!" the girl hissed and glared at the short blond boy, "Master has returned yesterday. What would happen if he hears you?"_

"_It's fine! It's fine!" the cat laughed and waved it off, "You really believe what he said about cutting our vocal cords? Geez Snow, here I thought you were smarter then that!" he laughed and walked to the kitchen where the head maid miss Kate was talking in a hushed voice with Eden who was sniffing very loudly. "I told you… why didn't you listen…" the woman sighed while whipping away his tears. "Oh dear…" _

"_What's wrong?" the blond cat asked confused as he saw his best friend crying, he normally didn't cry that often. "Eden-"_

"_Master was in a very bad mood yesterday… and he heard Eden sing…" Miss Kate sighed, _

_Behind him the short cat could hear Snow gasp, he gazed with wide eyes at Miss Kate who took a step back, away from the slightly taller cat… Eden slowly opened his mouth and the blond cat's eyes widened in horror when seeing what once was a tongue. _

He would have shouted if he still could, eyes wide in horror as he sat up. He had fallen asleep on the sofa again huh… he was gasping for air as he slowly looked around. No… he was fine… he was no longer at that place. Miss Aida had helped him escape… he was safe. Gilbert wouldn't betray him… for now.

He took in a deep breath and lay down again; glancing outside it was still early in the morning. The young man would soon wake up and leave for work. He covered his eyes with his left arm while his right hand rested on his throat, gulping.

"Does your throat hurt?"

Eyes opened wide again and he removed his arm so that his emerald eyes met one single red eye. When had the man entered Gil's apartment?

"So you're the little stray Gilbert-kun has been talking about?" the albino spoke, the young man smirked. "Ah, how rude of me, I haven't introduced myself," he said and walked around the sofa so that he could sit down on it, choosing to ignore the cat's legs that where in the way. The teen quickly sat up straight and hugged his legs to his chest, before the clown could sit on them. "My name is Xerxes Break," the man said and then pointed at the strange doll on his shoulder, "And this little on is Emily,"

"Nice to meet you, brat!"

_It talks! _

"Your name is?" the hatter then asked, smiling at him. "Ah that's right, I forgot! Gilbert-kun did tell me something about you being mute… is that true?"

No answer, he just kept staring at the man.

"Such an uncute brat, I see."

It was odd… the way he talked about him, the way he talked to him… it was as if he didn't notice he was talking with a Chain, a Halfling…

That's when Gilbert decided to show up; at first he didn't notice Break, just doing his morning routine.

"He doesn't pay much attention when he just wakes up," Break explained to cat that sat next to him, easily noticing the amused smile on the teen's face.

Only when Gilbert was completely ready to leave did he start to notice a few things, like he had to buy salt… he sighed, he always prepared himself for work before starting breakfast. He glanced at the table, yesterday the cat had already been sitting there… he then looked at the sofa… eyes narrowing when seeing the albino with a scary smirk there as well. He let out a loud sigh, "Break…" he mumbled, "Clown,"

"Ah as cold as ever, even after I helped you yesterday?" the clown then looked at the cat, "You see, your new master was worried about you so came to me for some information… apparently he has never had a pet before you. You should feel honored!"

"Break shut-up!" Gilbert shouted then looked at the cat, "Do you like omelet?" he then asked the cat, suddenly his voice way calmer then when talking to the albino.

The boy nodded,

"Of course, I thought you would know that by now." Break spoke, "But I'll pass, I already had breakfast." The hatter smirked,

"I wasn't talking to you, you fool!"

The cat laughed without making any sound and stood up, walking into the kitchen and sitting down while Gilbert prepared breakfast.

"So how about I'll ask Sharon to come after school with some clothes?"

"Huh?" Gilbert asked, still not fully awake much to the two other males their amusement.

"Of course, you can't let this boy stay in these clothes… of course you can wash them every day but they won't stay good forever," Break said, gesturing at the black clothes the cat wore. "What do you think, brat?" even though that last name, he said it in such a cheerful tone and it didn't sound like an insult at all at the end so the cat didn't feel offended at all. The cat glanced at Gilbert, as if asking for his answer… said man sighed. "I guess it's fine… but only Sharon. No one else,"

"Don't see me as a fool," Break laughed, "Don't worry, I'll keep it a secret you have a cat…" it seemed as if he knew more, and the cat would have asked if he was hiding something if he could but simply kept his mouth shut like always…

Break must have noticed his expression while Gilbert was too busy with the food he was preparing; the hatter slowly raised his hand and petted the blond boy's hair, much to the cat's surprise.

"Well then, if you hurry up I'll drive you to work."

"That's fine you know, I'll just-"

"Hurry up," Break laughed and stood up again, walking to the door that goes to the hallway and picking up a small bag, when opening it he grabbed a book and then walked back into the kitchen, handing the book to the cat. "It must be boring, right? To be here in all alone without having anything to keep you busy with… so here, you can have this." He said with a big grin, it even grew bigger when seeing he boy accept it and reading the summary on the back.

"Break…" Gilbert seemed to be surprised when hearing that, he put the omelet on the cat's plate while preparing for himself some toast as well.

"It's a book Sharon bought me," Break sighed, "From years ago… but I'm not really into these kind of stories,"

Gilbert read the name of the story on the cover, 'Holy Knight'… he had noticed Break wasn't the type that liked Knights and neither did they like him… he wondered why that was, sure Break had done some naughty things in the past but never did they actually cross the law. Though that was from the moment he came into his life, and that was six years ago now… nobody really knew who the hatter was before coming into the Rainsworth household. Thinking about it, Gilbert knew a lot of people with secrets like these… not only did the cat hide things from him, so did the people close to him as well.

He sighed as he started eating his breakfast, smiling softly when noticing the cat had heard him sigh and gave him a worried look.

After breakfast the two elder men left, Gilbert locked the door behind him like he always did. He had explained the cat where the second key was if he wanted to leave for a walk or whatever, but the boy hadn't paid much attention to it, he really didn't look like he was going to leave.

The cat now simply listened until he heard their footsteps fade away, something he always did when they were going to leave him… he then opened the book the albino had given him and started reading.


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own Pandora Hearts.**

* * *

"He really looks great in green!" Sharon said happily when the cat came out of the bathroom to show his new outfit, she smiled while glancing at Break who just had a bored expression like always when they were talking about clothes and then at Gilbert who's eyes were almost glued to the slightly blushing cat. This must have been like the fifth outfit he had to try on, they all looked good on him… but this one seemed a bit too much… he didn't like it when the girl came so close into his personal space to change something but he didn't push her away, not wanting to be rude or ungrateful. After all he couldn't be more then happy that these people wanted to help him even though he was just a simple cat.

It hadn't been too hard to notice that these three people knew a bit about his past, he had noticed Gilbert trying to hide the newspaper when he bought one… he also knew that they weren't planning on betraying him so he felt completely at ease.

"Oh I also have this one," Sharon then said and handed him some other clothes, "Try these on," she said and almost pushed him back into the bathroom. He noticed that she had made sure most of the outfits had a hoodie in it so that he could hide his ears… he actually felt happy when seeing that they thought about that. Gilbert probably still wanted him to leave the apartment once in a while for a walk, the man had asked him a few times if he wanted to go with him to the shop, but when noticing the boy just staring at him without nodding nor shaking his head he would quickly made up something the boy had to do instead, the young man had learned that the cat felt guilty for asking so much and if he helped for help the cat was more then happy to do so even though he was actually very useless. After all he was just a pet… even though the times he tried to help a servant they all just asked him to leave and bother someone else. Most of the days in the Bezarius household had been boring… until Lady Cecile suddenly felt asleep and didn't wake up for almost half a year… duke Bezarius had been very depressed and the sound of a Vesalius singing made it only worse, it would make the man think about his wife that perhaps would never wake up anymore… the house no longer was boring now, it was scary. Only when lady Cecile woke up did it become lively again… but not much cats could entertain her anymore… and so when she felt back asleep…

A knock on the door interrupted hi thoughts, the cat blinked a few times and turned around to face the person that had entered the bathroom. Gilbert gave him a worried look, "Are you alright? You've been staying here for a while now… we tried calling you but you didn't answer…"

Ah… he must have been too lost in thoughts, he really needed to stop doing that. Thinking about the past only gave him more nightmares. The cat smiled at Gilbert and shook his head, as if trying to say 'I'm fine'. He knew it was hard for the man to understand him, and oh how he wished he could say anything back... and perhaps he could, he could write, he knew sign language and he… was different then the other Vesalius cats… but he couldn't. Not yet…

"Are you tired perhaps?"

He shook his head again,

"So I see…" Gilbert sighed, "If something's bothering you feel free to come to me," he then ruffled the cat's hair and left the bathroom.

The boy sighed, and quickly changed his clothes to show them to the others.

"Ah my, it looks great on you!" Sharon smiled,

Break's bored expression had been replaced by an amused one as well when seeing these clothes, "No, no that looks absolutely great on you!" he said while clapping in his hands, "They fit your image better then that uniform," he then gestured at the black clothes the cat usually wore, the clothes miss Aida had made for him and the other two cats that escaped.

Sharon smiled when hearing that,

"Well I see you really did your best, the boy now had six beautiful outfits," Break said, "Now, I sure hope we're done now."

Sharon giggled when hearing that, "Yes, we're done," she answered,

"Right, uhm thanks by the way, Sharon." Gilbert then quickly said,

"Oh no bother at all!" the girl quickly answered, "Lately not a lot of people have asked for my help at all, it's actually very boring now… I'm happy I could make some clothes again."

Break nodded when hearing that, "Sharon was indeed very happy when hearing I found a little boy that needed some clothes, she doesn't seem like it but she's actually very into-"

"Break!" Sharon said in a calm voice while giggling softly, even the cat who only just met her knew you had to keep your distance now, the clown as well stopped with talking. "Ah that's right!" he suddenly said, "Gilbert-kun, what's for dinner?"

"Oh if we're not bothering you of course!" Sharon quickly said, "I mean… we could always just go back home, right Xerx-nii?"

"No it's fine… perhaps I should order something…" Gilbert answered, he then glanced at the cat, the boy smiled at him… he didn't seem to mind either though who could tell, the boy was a walking mystery.

* * *

Time went by fast, before they even know it a month had passed and the cat still was a mystery, Gilbert had decided to give up on asking questions if he could write or use sign language. He had bought all the books of the Holy Knight series and was surprised to see the guilty look on the cat's face, he felt guilty for asking so much… so Gilbert decided to learn him to help cleaning the house and to cook. The cat was a quick learner making it very easy for the young man… only cooking wasn't that great.

Gilbert sighed while bandaging the boy's hand, "I told you to be careful…"

The cat simply pouted, Gilbert smiled, at first he had thought the cat had made a sound of pain when he had burned his hand but then when looking at him he just heard the boy taking in a deep breath. "Alright let's just eat the soup," Gilbert smiled and ruffled the cat's hair.

Some people have talent, some have to learn… and other people are just really bad at something. And Gilbert noticed… that the boy was just really bad at cooking. He couldn't help but chuckle when seeing the boy's face while trying his soup.

"Too much salt, huh?" Gilbert asked,

The boy blushed while avoiding eye contact, if he could have talked he would have probably muttered something under his breath as well. It made the Nightray sigh as he looked at the boy who was forcing himself to eat the soup, in order to survive in this world you needed to be able to talk… it was sad knowing that this boy couldn't talk.

When noticing his gaze the boy looked up and offered the man a kind smile, Gilbert sighed again when seeing that and stood up, "How about I'll order something to eat then?"

The boy pursed his lips while looking away once again, as if trying to say his food wasn't that bad actually but he actually looked very grateful for that idea. So Gilbert stood up to grab his phone, turning his back to the boy… not noticing the grateful smile on his new friend's face as he gazed at the man.

* * *

.

.

.

* * *

It was surprising how fast time could go if you actually had something to look forward to, Gilbert no longer had any reason to stay late at work because at home there would be no one waiting. Whenever he finished work he would quickly leave to see the cat waiting for him, most of the times he just lay on the sofa with a bored expression while waiting for Gilbert to come back. At first the Nightray had been worried about he cat being bored when he was gone, but he soon realized that his old books that he already had forgotten about got used again. He bought new books for the cat, even bought some drawing things… he had been surprised to see how well the cat could draw… most of the times he just bought something to see if the cat would like it, he was even surprised when Break gave him a book about mathematics to see the cat spend hours reading it and studying it, making notes even…

He loved playing chess or any other game with the cat,

And he was surprised to see that already three months had passed in a blink of an eye and that he had gotten so used to the cat's company.

It was then that his brother Vincent paid him a visit, knocking on his door with that tired yet cheerful smile on his face as he greeted his brother and entered his apartment. It didn't take long for him to notice the cat that was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea and a Sudoku puzzle.

"My, my brother I didn't know you had a cat… turned into a masochist, I see." The blond had teased his brother,

"That's not funny, Vince." Gilbert mumbled while preparing tea for his brother,

Vincent chuckled and sat across from the cat, "Why a cat?" he then asked while gazing at said boy, the boy had greeted him with a smile and was now following their conversation. "I thought you disliked them,"

Green eyes widened just a bit when hearing that,

"I still do," Gilbert answered while ruffling the boy's hair and handing Vincent his tea, "Just not this one,"

The cat seemed happy with that answer,

"He doesn't talk much, does he?" Vincent then spoke,

"No he doesn't…" Gilbert sighed,

"Well I guess I have a problem then,"

"How come?"

"You see," Vincent laughed while looking up to meet his brother's gaze, "Our family has been discussing about the fact that Elliot needs a personal servant,"

"He has Leo, doesn't he?" Gilbert frowned,

"Yes he does, while I don't mind him, our father has requested a better servant… so he wanted a chain for Elliot."

"So?" Gilbert still didn't know where this was going; he glanced at the cat who shrugged as well, not understanding it either.

"Well," Vincent chuckled, "It will be Ernest's birthday present for him… but the problem is, he already bought him…. But it's still not Elliot's birthday."

"No that's next week,"

Vincent nodded with that amused smile on his face,

The cat was the first one that realized what Vincent was going on, eyes widened while his mouth looked even smaller as he did that.

"I'm asking you if he could stay here for the week," Vincent then explained, "Since there's no one else that we know that Elliot wouldn't visit in this week."

Gilbert sighed when hearing that, "I don't know… this place isn't so big and… I got this guy already," he said while gesturing at his the boy.

When hearing that the chain quickly shook his head and waved his hands in front of his face, trying to tell Gilbert it was all right, he didn't mind it at all.

"You're sure?"

A nod,

"It won't bother you at all?"

He shook his head,

"Don't get mad later,"

He pouted when hearing that,

Vincent who saw this silly conversation chuckled then, "Well then, Ernest will be bringing him here tomorrow after work… his name is Humpty Dumpty," Vincent then stood up again, his tea still untouched. "It's such a pity I could only visit you for this long… but they need me at the Nightray mansion. You should come back soon, I miss you." Vincent said and then glanced at the cat, "Well then, bye then." He made a loose gesture that looked like a wave and walked out of the apartment.

Gilbert sighed when his younger brother was gone, he then noticed his new friend giving him a curious look, "What?"

The boy frowned a bit, he wanted to ask him something and Gilbert was surprised when seeing he opened his mouth as if wanting to say something… but only a soft not recognizable sound escaped these lips as his mouth formed the word 'Is'… it sounded hoarse and painful and as soon as the cat realized this he stopped with whatever he wanted to ask and looked away, sighing as well.

"What's wrong?"

…He shook his head and gave him one of his silly smiles as an apology.

"Ah are you bothered about what Vincent said? About me hating cats?"

Bingo. He was right, the cat's eyes widened jus a bit before returning back to normal and shaking his head as if trying to lie about it.

Gilbert couldn't help but laugh softly as he ruffled the cat's hair, "It's fine," he explained, "I don't hate you…"

_But still-_

"It is true that I am not a big fan of cats… but I have my own reasons for that," he frowned then, not ling the memory. "That I'll tell you some day, just like you will talk to me some day."


	4. Chapter 4

__**thanks to esmeralda kitty cat for beta-reading **

**do not own ph**

* * *

_They were laughing… snickering as they hurt him, punching him in the face, in the stomach, his leg… it all hurt and they thought it was amusing. When he tried to get up to run one of them hissed at him and with his long claws attacked his face, laughing even louder when he started sobbing. He was scared, he wanted to go home… 'Someone please save me' he didn't even know he had been whispering that softly until one of the catlike creatures laughed and hissed, "Nobody is going to save you," it spat in his face,_

"_Despicable,"_

"_Let's kill him-"_

"_Kill…"_

"_Yes…"_

* * *

He opened his eyes with a gasp and gazed straight into the emerald eyes of… a cat, he let out a surprised and horrified yelp and pushed the cat away, the small creature lost his balance and felt hard on the ground, his head hitting the nightstand next to Gil's bed… it would have screamed if it still could but instead it kept still and tried to make himself as small as possible.

And that's when Gilbert recognized him… he quickly got out of his bed and ran to the shivering boy, "S-sorry," he whispered, "I-I just… oh god are you bleeding?" he asked worried while trying to gently remove the cat's hand from his bleeding head, it was a small but deep cut and Gilbert cursed himself for acting like that, just because he remembered something from years ago. "I'm so-so… sorry," he breathed while helping the cat with standing up and walking with him to the bathroom where he wanted to treat his wound if not for his brother's voice stopping him… oh that's right, Vincent had told him Ernest would bring Elliot's present here to hide…

"Your cat let me in," Ernest explained himself while gazing with disgusted eyes at the cat who stood in the doorway of the bathroom, he lowered his eyes to the ground and entered the bathroom, hiding away from the older Nightray.

"Y-yes," Gilbert nodded, "I just found him, okay,"

"Disgusting creature," the man sighed and then gestured at the dog standing next to him, "This is Angie," he said and said girly dog made a small bow as a greeting, "Vincent told me you'll be looking after her,"

"Ah y-yeah… uhm… I thought you would bring her after work?"

"And hide her a few hours longer in the Nightray household while Elliot is still there? I don't think so," the man shook his head with a sigh as if Gilbert should know better, "Well then, I'll be going now. I'll pick her up over six days," with that the man left, not even saying goodbye to his brother, the only Nightray that actually left the mansion to start a life on his own.

Gilbert sighed, "Uhm Angie, right?"

"Yes, nice to meet you." She had a soft and girly voice, after spending so much time with the cat Gilbert had gotten used to the thought of Chains not talking, he should have known better that only Vesalius cats were like that, Angie wasn't a Vesalius, by the looks of it she was a full blood Bandersnatch, she had long black hair tied up in an braid that hang elegantly over her left shoulder, she had grey eyes and pale skin… to others she was beautiful but to Gilbert she had this eerie look around her, she had sharp teeth as well and her claws were long but well done, painted black.

"Y-yes…" he noticed the luggage next to her, "Uhm… yeah make yourself comfortable, I'll be right back…" with that he quickly ran back to the bathroom where the cat was already cleaning the wound, hissing softly because of the pain.

"Here let me help," Gilbert offered gently, making a washcloth wet and cleaning the wound, when it was clean enough he bandaged it… perhaps he should let a doctor look at it, it seemed to be deep… but he knew that for now he still had to hide the cat.

"Oh is he hurt?" Angie asked curiously, no one knew when she had entered the bathroom but she was now sitting on the edge of the bath, Gilbert who had turned her back to her had to look over his shoulder at her, "Yeah…"

"Did he fall? Since when are cats so clumsy?"

"He's not… it was an accident,"

"You pushed him?"

"It was an accident," he sighed and decided that it was good for now, turning his head to face Angie who was staring at him with big grey curious eyes, "I didn't mean to,"

"Then why did you do it?"

"Because… just leave it okay," he sighed, "Who wants breakfast?"

The cat shook his head, and if Gilbert had been fully awake he might have noticed that he was doing his best to keep as far as possible from the dog,

"Well…" he walked out of the bathroom, quickly followed by the blond chain and he looked at the time, "Okay… I might have to skip breakfast," he sighed, "You know where everything is, try to make something without burning the house," he ruffled the chain's hair and then walked back into his bedroom to get dressed.

Angie smiled softly, "How about I'll make breakfast? I'm a pretty good cook," she said,

The chain gave her a suspicious look, it was obvious he didn't like her… but Angie didn't pay attention to it and walked into the kitchen looking around for ingredients while the cat just kept an eye on her but did not help her while she prepared a sandwich for Gilbert,

"What's your name?" she then asked curiously,

There was no answer, and there wouldn't come one…

"Hm?" she looked over her shoulder at the boy, pouting when he didn't answer but instead looked at his shoes. "You're rather rude," the dog spoke, "Ignoring a lady just like that," she walked into the shadows and before the cat even noticed something she stood right next to him, one of the many abilities of a Bandersnatch… "Your name?" she narrowed her eyes while glaring at him and crossing her arms, tapping her foot on the wooden floor. "I said…" she growled, "Tell. Me. Your. Name!" she hissed almost like a cat and grabbed the boy's wrist, said boy hissed back at her and easily pulled his hand away.

"Okay, Angie and… well yeah," Gilbert came in on the right time and glanced at the cat who still had no name, "I'm leaving to work, you two be good."

"Gilbert-sama," Angie whined suddenly acting like an innocent puppy, "Your cat ignores me,"

"Oh no he doesn't," Gilbert said and ruffled her hair gently, not noticing the look on the cat's face as he did that and seeing Angie wag her tail happily. "He can't talk,"

"Can't talk?" Angie then looked back at the cat, "Oh my- I'm so- so sorry!" she covered her mouth with both hands, "Gosh! How rude of me!" she almost ran to the cat and hugged him, "I'm so-so sorry!"

Gilbert smiled when seeing that, "Oh well I should be leaving," he then said and wanted to leave,

"Oh wait, Gilbert-sama!" she ran back into the kitchen and got the sandwich she made, "It's not healthy to leave with an empty stomach," she handed him the food while smiling kindly at him, "Cat helped me,"

"Cat?" the raven chuckled softly when hearing the new name for his cat, "Well thanks then, bye, you know where the key is." He then left.

"Key? To leave?" Angie asked curiously.

The cat slowly nodded, still making sure that she kept her distance, he hadn't liked it all when she hugged him,

"You're a Vesalius, right?" she then asked,

Green eyes widen just slightly, normally dogs weren't that good at memorizing that kind of stuff.

"I easily noticed," she laughed arrogantly while playing with her hair, "Cats like you are only good for entertainment but you can't even do that without a voice,"

And the cat's instincts were right after all; this chain could not be trusted, she sighed, "Oh well…. Perhaps I should ask Ernest-sama if he could buy a better dog for Gilbert-sama as well… not some filthy cat like you." She sat down on the sofa, pushing the pillow and blanket off that lay there because the cat always slept there.

"I see Gilbert-sama didn't even give you a bed… you really think he wants you here," she chuckled,

_It's because I don't want to bother him with it… he offered me to have the study room but I refused._

The dog sighed, "You're so boring," the dog closed her eyes for a bit, "Teasing you isn't even fun because you can't say anything back…" she then opened her eyes again, as if thinking about something while curling up in an ball, her eyes widened when realizing something, before the cat even noticed it she became a shadow and appeared behind him, hitting him behind his back… hearing the surprised hiss… she giggled then, "Why can't you talk?" she then asked curiously and gently petted the spot where she had hit him, yet the cat did not relax into her touch instead he took a step away from her, making sure from now on to keep out of the shadows.

The taller girl sighed and walked back into the shadows to re-appear on the sofa and sitting down, "It's fine… I won't attack you… just stay out of my sight, I hate cats."

* * *

Break almost burst out in laughter when hearing Gilbert tell him that he got a dog now as well for six days, the clown had just wanted to chat a bit during lunch break being bored to death. "Gilbert-kun, you must be a special kind of stupid. You do know that dogs and cats can't get along well." He chuckled while eating candy,

"Of course I know! But Angie… seems to act more like a human anyway so-"

"Yes but she's still a dog," Break hummed,

"She felt rather offended though when he didn't tell her his name… I told her he can't,"

Break hummed when hearing that, "Yes indeed, you're a special kind of stupid." He spoke while petting Emily on her head,

"Hm?"

"Tell me Gilbert, does a cat need his vocal cords when purring?"

Gilbert frowned when hearing that, he seemed to think about that answer and then shook his head, "I don't think so… since he can purr even though he doesn't have them,"

Break laughed again, "Oh Gilbert-kun," he almost had tears in his eye from amusement, Gilbert noticed, honestly what was so funny? "I'd suggest you start looking up 'cats' in books instead of ignoring he's a cat," he stood up again and walked away still chuckling to himself,

"Hey Break," Gilbert shouted his colleague's name, "Does a cat need his vocal cords when purring?"

The hatter stopped and turned his head just slightly, his pointer finger resting on his chin… "I believe they do," with that he left,

Gilbert frowned when hearing that, so had he been wrong?... did that mean the cat could talk after all? Was he one of the few cats that had kept their mouth shut and didn't lose his vocal cords? But then why hide it? He frowned… this did not make any sense. The cat knew he could trust him, so why… why didn't he just talk to him?

He needed answers… and right now… he cursed, he still had to work a few hours! God dammit!

* * *

When Gilbert came back home he was surprised to see it was Angie greeting him, she gave him a kind smile and told him she had made dinner, when he asked where the cat was Angie pointed at the study room, "He's been there the whole time," she shrugged, "I guess he's shy…"

"Perhaps…" but that sounded a bit strange, the cat had been fine when he got saved by him, he had been fine with Break, he had been fine with Sharon, with Vincent… so why would he be shy now? "So what did you make?"

"Soup!" she said proud of herself, "I just finished it so let's eat,"

"Okay, then I'll go and get…him,"

"Why don't you sit down? I'll do it for you!"

Gilbert gently ruffled her hair when doing this, "Nah, I'll do it. It's fine, you can serve dinner… thanks by the way,"

"Anytime Gilbert-sama." She nodded and walked back into the kitchen while Gilbert headed to the study room, smiling when seeing Oz was studying Arithmetic again. He really liked that, huh…

"Dinner is ready,"

The cat almost screamed when hearing that, looking up surprised to meet Gil's eyes, he let out a sigh of relief… it wasn't her.

"How's your wound?"

He nodded, trying to say it's fine, but something was bothering him, Gilbert easily noticed that… "What's wrong?"

He shook his head, yet didn't try to tell him 'it's fine' again, he just didn't want to talk about it.

"So… studying, again?" he looked at what the boy had done already… "You've been sitting here the whole time I was gone?" he then asked, he had made so many notes.

He nodded,

"You don't like Angie?"

He blinked a few times, before shaking his head… waving his hands before his face, as if trying to tell him it wasn't like that yet the raven noticed he was hiding something, maybe it wasn't because of Angie…

"Gilbert-sama?" speaks of the devil, Angie was smiling kindly at Gilbert, "Dinner is served,"

"Yes…. We're coming,"

She nodded and walked away, followed by Gilbert and a cat that made sure to keep his distance,

Angie smiled while watching the others eat her food, her smile grew even wider when Gilbert said it was good and he wasn't lying, which made the cat sitting next to him only look away with irritation, not happy to hear that the dog was better at cooking then him.

"You're not eating?" Gilbert asked curiously, giving the cat a worried look.

The blond sighed while looking at his soup, no… he didn't want to eat it, yet he smiled at Gilbert and started eating, it didn't taste like anything the raven made, it didn't even come near what he could make… but it was way better then what he could do.

He didn't like this one bit.

Angie then started talking about her life before Ernest brought her, she wanted all of Gilbert's attention, and the cat didn't like it at all. Gazing with irritated eyes at how Gilbert listened to everything she said… he understood it must be nice to have a female in the house once in a while and especially when that female was near your age… the cat glanced at her, she must be seventeen or eighteen years… two or three years older then him and she was also taller then him, she had feminine body and… please don't let Gilbert start to like her!

No longer standing the sight he stood up and ran back into the study room, ignoring the surprised looks he got and no he wasn't going to finish that dog's soup even though it was the only meal he had that day. He didn't even want to study, he just wanted to hide from everything… he had made Gilbert angry probably but at the moment he couldn't care less as he sat down and leaned against the wall, curling up in an ball like he always did when something was troubling him, deciding it was better to cool down and think about what he did, knowing he was acting out of character.

But he couldn't help it…

He sighed and closed his eyes…

_Perhaps Gil doesn't want me here…._

* * *

_Miss Kate was softly humming to herself while preparing the onion soup lady Cecile loved so much; she gently petted the purring cat's head. "It won't take long, then you can bring her the soup…"_

"_Say miss Kate," the cat hummed as well, "What song would she like to hear today,"_

"_Hmm…" the woman chuckled while tapping her chin, "Whatever you like to sing," she then decided the soup was ready to be served and poured it in a bowl._

"_Now bring this to Lady Cecile," she said and hanged the small cat a bedside table, petting his hand one last time before she told him to leave,_

_The boy had done this many times, so knew how to walk without spilling anything, he knocked on the door of Lady Cecile's room, since she had gotten sick duke Bezarius had given her, her own room,_

_The middle aged woman greeted him with a kind smile and even wanted to help the cat with serving dinner, if not for her too weak state._

"_You're always so kind, Oz…" she sighed, "I wish my son was more like you… but he's always gone,"_

"_Jack-sama is just very busy," the cat smiled at her,_

"_Yes... and now that Aida is going to Latowidge academy it has become rather lonely here…" she slowly started eating with a sad expression on her face,_

_And the cat sighed as well, before taking a deep breath as he started humming an old song that he had grown up with… a song that the woman he once called mother always sang for him, a song that would make anyone feel warm inside when hearing it… and he knew it worked as he saw lady Cecile smile softly with tears in her eyes._


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you levamentum and Theabomination for their opinion and helping me with this chapter! **

**I do not own Pandora Hearts.**

**I love reviews!**

* * *

_Someone was whispering his name, but it wasn't in his head… He wasn't dreaming, it was someone from the real word. That voice was slowly awakening him from his slumber._

_"Oz…"_

_He slowly opened his eyes, tired emerald eyes met the grey-green eyes of his cousin (maybe), Snow. The girl gave him an pleading look as she spoke._

_"Can I sleep with you?" she almost whined, and a tired Oz only let out a soft "huh"; he was still somewhere between sleep and awake. Snow almost flinched, he hadn't even noticed the "huh" came out a bit louder then he wanted._

_"Can I sleep with you?" She repeated once again._

_"Why?" He whispered this time, trying to sit up but being too tired for that so he just leaned on his elbows._

_"…I'm scared that I will have nightmares," she admitted while looking sadly away - if she had nightmares she might scream and she didn't want that. What if someone could hear her?_

_"What… about Dinah?"_

_"She thinks master should just cut my vocal cords like hers…" The girl was almost sobbing._

_The young cat sighed; he glanced at Eden, who had turned his back to him. They were all like that… writing things like: 'It's not fair. Why us? Why not Oz? Why not Snow? Why not someone else?'. They blamed Oz and Snow for their lost voice, simply because Oz and Snow were the only two that still had their voice and only the Vesalius cats knew that - thought it might not take so long before Zai or someone else would find out as well. Oz had sworn that he would make sure nothing happened to Snow's beloved voice._

_He finally sighed and made some space for her, petting the empty spot next to him. His bed wasn't anything too big and he knew that it would probably be a sleepless night if they didn't find a good way to sleep…_

_Snow had found a way though… snuggling closer into his chest and letting Oz wrap a lazy arm around her, even protecting her in her sleep. He sighed and slowly both drifted back to sleep._

Xxx

Though, when he woke up again, there was no Snow laying beside him - there was no Eden who had turned his back to them laying in the bed at the other side of his room… No. When he woke up, he was in the study room of Gilbert's apartment. He sighed - he must have fallen asleep while hiding from both Gilbert and Angie; Angie because he didn't like her and Gilbert… because he must have disappointed the man with his jealous behaviour. He slowly stood up, noting to himself that falling in that position hurt too much.

He slowly walked out of the office and was surprised there was still light in the living room. He thought it was Angie; Gilbert normally went to bed early. But eyes widened when seeing it was Gilbert sitting on the sofa with a book. Said Raven looked up when he heard the cat behind him and when their eyes met, there was no anger nor disappointment… only relief.

"Ah… I thought you fell asleep," he smiled.

That wasn't a wrong guess; the cat simply shrugged while smiling sheepishly at him. He walked around the sofa and sat down next to him, giving him a curious look.

"Ah, yeah, I let Angie sleep in my bedroom… She probably isn't used to sleeping on a sofa," he explained, "Oh and by the way…you could have just told me," he then sighed, "Ah no… well that's a bit too hard."

Tell you what? He almost asked but quickly stopped himself.

"Well I guess it's fine that you're not used to dogs… I know the Bezarius don't like dogs… They probably never had one either, and well…. I guess it's fine."

The blonde chain shook his head while chuckling without any sound, smiling at the clueless Raven. Oh if he only knew what really bothered the cat, but he didn't want to be a bother so he decided to let Gilbert believe that. He just wasn't used to the idea of sharing an apartment with a dog.

"You should have told me instead of telling me it's fine."

He shrugged once more.

"I guess you probably didn't know what to say either when Vincent asked if she could stay…" Gilbert closed the book and the cat looked at the cover, surprised he was reading the Holy Knights.

"Ah yeah, I got curious why you and Elliot like it so much… You don't mind do you?"

Mind? How could I even-?

"Since I bought them for you, so they're technically yours," Gilbert explained, ruffling his hair.

So the boy's eyes widened, he easily snatched the book out of Gil's hands and held it protective against his chest while sticking out his tongue to the taller man, who raised both eyebrows when he did that. It was all just an act - of course the cat didn't mind it all if Gilbert read the books; if he would one day find his voice back, he would be more then delighted to talk about the series with Gilbert. He handed the man the book back and leaned his head against his shoulder, so that when Gilbert started reading again, he could read with him. He had read the series many times by now but he never got tired of them.

Usually it had been him that had to held someone, so it was kind of strange when the Nightray wrapped an arm around his waist to pull him closer, but he gladly snuggled closer into his touch, purring softly as Gilbert read…

Neither of them really knew who drifted to sleep first… but it wasn't bad at all, falling asleep in each other's arms.

And the next morning it was Angie that woke them up by preparing breakfast and making a bit too much noise. She laughed sheepishly when both males woke up and gazed at her with tired eyes. "Sorry."

"No… It's fine, I should get read for work," the raven sighed and stood up, not noticing the disappointed look on the cat's face, neither did he notice the dog glaring at said blond.

She prepared food for both of them, but Oz refused to touch his breakfast. Instead, he prepared some toast for himself and grabbed jam. He ignored the girl glaring at him and when Gilbert asked him if he didn't like the food, he shook his head while smiling in the best fake apologetic way he could. Gilbert didn't further question it as he had to leave for work; he gently ruffled the cat's hair and since Angie was taking a shower, he simply shouted that he was leaving and got a 'have a safe trip' back and then he left.

She showered for at least half an hour before coming out, wearing a cute dark blue dress. Even though the beautiful face she had and all the gorgeous clothes she had, that still didn't stop the glare when she noticed the cat wanting to head to the office but having dropped the papers he had been holding and trying to pick them up, eyes narrowing when seeing Angie had stood on one of his drawings.

"You're very rude, you know," she almost spat the words in his face. No; she did as the boy had to wipe his face clean. "Look at me when I'm talking to you," she said.

It's just like back then… They are always the same, no matter where I go. He looked up, an irritated smile on his face. He wanted that drawing back that she had put her foot on - it had been an quick sketch of Miss Aida and he liked to have it back.

"What's with you clinging to Gilbert-sama anyway? It's disgusting. Not only are you a male but you're also a cat… that's even lower then a rat." She hissed, "Cats are just filthy creatures," she was surprised, the cat never reacted to any of her words, only gazing at her with irritated eyes. His eyes did seem to widen when she said the word, "filthy", but he quickly looked away; though, the hurt in his eyes was obviously there. "Oh… you know what Filthy means? Filthy cat."

Dammit.

"I said look at me when I'm talking to you!" But when the cat didn't look up to meet her gaze she raised her left hand high in the air and then slapped him as hard as she could in his face. Instead of gazing at her with horror, he just blinked a few times from surprise and placed his hand on the red cheek, so that he didn't see the girl's next attack. She easily hit him in his stomach and he did something completely different… He let out a horrifying sound that you could only make with vocal cords - but she didn't even think about that because the cat started trembling, making strange sounds as he tried to breath but also whimper at the same time while holding his stomach, not even being able to stand up.

Now… She knew that kick had been hard but whenever she kicked someone like that, that person could still stand up. Never had she had this reaction. "O-oi… don't act like a drama queen," she frowned while crossing her arms, drawings lay scattered around the floor and their maker was suffering in the middle of them. "Geez," she sighed, "I didn't punch you that hard," she kneeled down and tried poking the cat's knee, but the cat saw it and easily pushed her away from him with an unbelievably strength he hissed at her… like a real cat.

"Hey… that's rude," she frowned but you could easily see worry in her eyes. Sfter all, chains were once animals that had the wish to become human, it was strange to see a chain give in to his animal nature like that… his teeth looked sharper, his eyes more cat-like… was this really just a cat for entertainment? She suddenly wondered as she saw the cat crawl away from her so that he could lean against the wall while holding his stomach, trembling from pain.

"Hey… stop that." She tried to reach her hand out to him once more but got the same sickening reaction, as if his eyes could kill her and he made that awful low hiss, his left hand ready to punch her.

The dog narrowed her eyes, she simply shrugged and stood up, "Fine, do whatever you like." She then walked away and headed into the kitchen to prepare things for dinner, that took her half an hour but even then the cat still hadn't moved from its spot, instead he had made himself as still as possible while holding his stomach and breathing hard, she then decided to read.

But after one hour she gave up on that thought and once again glanced at the cat, he was making awful sounds… soft whimpers… eyes widened in realization. "Y…You can talk," she spoke and stood up from the sofa, slowly walking to the cat, the cat didn't even look up… as if he didn't even notice her presence. "There's nothing wrong with your vocal cords! You're a liar!" When she tried to come closer and lay a hand on his shoulder, he easily pushed her off with so much force that even the taller girl lost her balance and fell down. Who would have thought that suck a fragile looking cat could act like this? Where all wounded cats like this? She didn't know…

"Okay… Fine, I get it. You're angry. Let me at least help you… Okay! I'm sorry… but you're still very rude and a liar!" She slowly stood up and started picking up the drawings, looking at them one by one when realizing how good he was…

"Oh… these are pretty good," she whispered and then found the one with Miss Aida… "You're… from the Bezarius dukedom…" she gasped, "You're…"

The cat made an odd sound; it sounded like a hiss but if you paid enough attention, you could hear that he actually whispered "shut up".

"So I'm right…" she spoke, "Does Gilbert-sama know?"

No reaction.

"I'm guessing he does… you're lucky he's so nice to you… cats don't disserve that kind of love." She then reached her hand out to the cat, "Here, let me help you-" and once again the cat slapped her hand away.

"Fine. Do as you please." She angrily walked back into the kitchen and made what was left of the soup from yesterday warm, deciding that she needed some distraction. She kept in the kitchen still being angry and only once looked up when hearing a strange sound… as if something was crawling over the floor, well more like dragging itself over the floor… when she stood up the check she could see the cat crawling on the sofa and laying down there, his back turned to the girl as he was still holding his stomach.

"Do you want some soup?" She asked even though the frown on her face, but the cat did not respond.

Xxx

"So did you talk with him?" Sharon asked curiously while sitting elegantly on Break's desk. Today was a free day at school and she had promised the clown that she would make lunch for him and bring it to him so that it would still be warm. Smiling, they had decided that lunch was more delicious when eating it in Gil's office. So that's where they were at the moment.

"Of course I talk with him," Gilbert said, sounding confused.

The girl chuckled and then rolled her eyes, "I mean… did you ask him why he doesn't want to talk even though he can."

"You knew!"

"Of course I knew," the girl sounded almost offended by that, "It wasn't that hard to figure out, I have cats as well at home…"

"You do?"

"Yes, but they're scared of strangers. I picked them up from the streets after all. They're stray cats… Not Vesalius like yours… but still beautiful chains." She smiled softly.

Gilbert sighed, "Okay…"

"So?"

"No," he shook his head, "When do I have the chance? Besides, perhaps he doesn't even know he has a voice-"

"No, no…" Break laughed, "He does," he really thought this was all very amusing, "I've noticed that there are many times he wants to say something but then realizes he shouldn't…"

"…You said he trusts me, right?"

"Yes, a cat wouldn't crawl in bed with anyone." The hatter chuckled.

"Wait- what!?" Sharon interrupted their conversation, "Gilbert, what in heaven's name did you do with that poor creature?"

"N-nothing! He couldn't sleep in the same room as Angie-"

"Because she's a dog," Break hummed.

"-And he asked if he could sleep with me…"

Sharon nodded then, and gestured that they could continue their conversation while she awkwardly ate from her own food that she made as well.

"Anyway… Break," Gilbert then looked back at the clown.

"Yes, as I was saying," the clown nodded while smiling, "I'm sure the cat trusts you… But he didn't at the start know that his instincts might be fooling him, so wisely kept his mouth shut… Now that time has passed, don't you think it would be odd if he suddenly started talking?"

"No… not at all."

"Then you're the only one," Break sighed and stood up, not even halfway done with the food Sharon had made and he was already unwrapping candy as he walked to one of the three windows in Gil's office and gazed outside with an amused smile. "A normal person would freak out and feel hurt that he has been lied to."

"He… doesn't want to hurt, Gilbert…" Sharon then spoke, as if she realized something, her voice hushed as if no one else must find out while her eyes had this odd spark.

"Exactly," Break nodded and pointed with a lollipop at Sharon as he turned excited on his heel to face the two, smirking at the girl.

"How romantic and oh so tragic!" Sharon giggled while clapping in her hands, but she then narrowed her eyes and looked back at Break. "Break… Why are you eating candy when you still haven't finished your food?" She said in an sweet yet scary tone, making even the clown shiver and then, she angrily walked to the clown. Even though she had a smile on her face, she was holding a fan and was readying to punch the albino…

And for once, Gilbert didn't try to hide or even pay attention to them as he thought about what he just had heard… So the cat had been worried about that?

Perhaps he should talk about this with the cat.

Xxx

Though, he didn't have the chance to ask him anything, because when he got back home, Angie almost ran into his arms, pointing at said cat laying on the sofa and telling him the cat got hurt and didn't want her to look at it.

"-And I can't even come near him!" She panted; she looked scared and worried at the same time, but he didn't pay much attention to that as he quickly walked to the hard breathing cat, seeing his eyes were half-open and that he hadn't been sleeping like Angie thought he was. He slowly tried to lay his hand on the cat's shoulder but just like the girl had told him, he slapped his hand away while hissing and glaring at him.

"O-oi… let me look at it… I can't help you if-"

Another hiss, making it all too clear what the cat wanted: 'Stay away from me.'

This made even Gilbert pull back his hand. He glanced at Angie. "How did this happen?"

"I-… we just… and he…"

Gilbert sighed and stood up again, giving the cat one last glance as he then walked to his phone.

Xxx

"Oh, actually that is very normal behaviour for an injured cat," Gilbert's colleague, Reim Lunettes, told him while cleaning his glasses nervously because Break was once again teasing him and making fun of him, making anyone tense. But Gilbert, for once, didn't pay attention on the clown being annoying, as he was too worried about the cat that still didn't want anyone to come near him.

"When they're hurt they're actually very weak-"

"Weak?" Angie interrupted him surprised, "He's stronger than usual!"

"Ah, but that is because he never fought with you, now did he young lady." Break hummed, "Our beloved cat never had any reasons to show us his real strength… If you believe he really is strong, then you should see him when he's not injured."

Reim nodded, "Well, anyway, he's just trying to protect himself, because he's injured. He doesn't know who he can trust anymore." He put his glasses back on and glanced at the cat that kept breathing hard. "A cat's weak points are its throat and stomach so even if he just falls flat on his stomach, he can be in serious pain… The stomach of a chain is even more sensitive than a normal cat's…. So that also might explain why he refused to eat your food," he then said, having heard from Gilbert that the cat refused to eat whatever Angie made, "They usually sniff their food to make sure it safe."

"Ah… He does tend to do that," Gilbert nodded, remembering all the times when he started cooking and the cat would sniff at his food. He usually thought it was because it smelled great or something. He never thought the cat was checking if he could eat it… After all, so far the cat had always eaten whatever he made; seeing the boy refuse to eat anything was a first for him actually.

Gilbert glanced at the cat, knowing he was following their conversation but it didn't seem that anything was really getting through to him. He was probably waiting for them to talk about attacking him… It was so strange to see this side of him - he didn't look like the boy that had lived for months with him; he looked like a cat… and Gilbert hated cats… Narrowing his eyes for a while, he then sighed and looked elsewhere. He didn't like looking at the cat; it made him remember that one day.

Break must have noticed his behaviour but didn't question it for once; he was still solving the mystery called 'how did the cat get like this'? And to be honest, it wasn't that hard actually to guess what happened, glancing at the dog that was eyeing the cat with what looked like a bothered glare.

"Gilbert-" He didn't even have time to finish calling Gilbert's name; said Raven glanced at Angie,as if he was worried about her, this confused and irritated the hatter.

"I still need to buy ingredients for dinner…" It was as if he just realized that, "You said you wanted to make casserole, right?"

Angie seemed confused for a bit before nodding slowly, and Gilbert then nodded and he glanced at both Reim and Break, while the clown just stared at him with one single red cold eye and Reim give him a confused look.

"Gilbert-sama what are you-?"

"He needs to calm down, right?" Gilbert ignored their questions, "We're probably just stressing him out."

"Gilbert-kun."

"So I think we should just leave him for now, Angie and I'll go outside… and you two," he gestured at the door, "Need to leave."

"But Gilbert-sama!"

Gilbert simply ignored them, pointing to the door. Reim nervously cleaned his glasses and mumbled an apology and glanced at the injured cat for the last time and then left, wondering why they even bothered to call him if they didn't even want to help the poor cat. It was strange as well for Gilbert to act like that towards someone he truly cared about. After all he had heard them talking about the cat, it was as if Gilbert saw him as a friend… Gilbert cared a lot about friends, so why did he act like that?

Break simply sat down on the sofa across from them, "I'm staying…"

"Break."

"Someone needs to keep an eye on the boy," the clown waved him lazily off, "What if it gets worse?"

"Fine, don't break anything." With that, both Angie and Gilbert left as well. The clown sighed, he kept his eye on the door until he was sure Gilbert and Angie were gone and he then stood up, slowly walked to the cat that was still suffering while hugging his stomach, "Please don't take this personally," the hatter sighed, laying a lollipop next to the cat that hissed at him when his hand got too close, but it was obvious he was starting to get tired after all the fighting back. It wouldn't surprise him if Angie had tried to touch the cat as well, seeing the glass of water and painkillers on the coffee table… Or the girl was scared of Gilbert kicking her out of the house for what she did or she truly regretted what she did.

"You know Gilbert-kun dislikes cats… You're the only cat that's allowed to come so close to him… So close that he even started to love you like a family." The hatter smiled, gently ruffling the cat the blond only hissed weakly, starting to fall asleep but he didn't want to sleep…. Scared of what might happen if he did, even if the hand felt familiar.

"Tell me, Cat-kun," the clown snickered, kneeling down so that he was on the same eye level as the exhausted cat, "Who are you really?"

For a second there was confusion in these eyes instead of anger, fear and all the other things that no one ever saw in his eyes, but they then turned back and the cat pushed him away.

Break didn't react to it all; he simply stood up again and prepared some hot milk, putting it on the coffee table next to the glass of water with pain killers. Though, he also put some sleeping pills next to them and he then as well left.

Xxx

It was hours later when he woke up again; he hadn't even realized he had fallen asleep at all… tired emerald eyes looked around the living room, seeing it was already dark and this time Gilbert was sleeping in his own room as Angie was sitting on the sofa across from him reading a book - it was big and the word "Romance" written on it in an golden curly handwriting.

The moment she heard him wake up, she looked up. Instead of her usual glare, she just looked down again with tired eyes, "You made him worried… again…" she spoke softly, "Well at the beginning, then you made him remember something awful… and now he doesn't care."

He hadn't really been paying attention, only when she said these last words. He looked away, now that he had calmed down and thanks to the many pain killers he came back to senses. He probably overreacted anyway, but it had been as if something else took over his body. He no longer recognized people, and his mind kept telling him everyone was the enemy and tried to hurt him.

God… he felt like an idiot right now. Did Gilbert still want him? He should probably apologize, beg on his knees for forgiveness… though begging meant using his voice, he didn't want to do that; after years of hiding. he didn't want to do that. He didn't even like the idea of talking to anyone - he already hated that he had told the girl to shut up and he felt sick from only the thought that he had let that slip out of his mouth.

"You're mad, you know that?" Angie then said, "I seriously can't believe why he still cares about you, you only repay him with ungratefulness." And this time when she did look up, there was that familiar glare on her face again. "Disgusting, I don't even want to look at you," she almost spat these last words with an hushed voice, her words were like acid. "Just go somewhere else."

To be honest, she hadn't expected him to stand up and actually walk away. Her big grey eyes gazed at him with surprise but that quickly got replaced by horror when she saw the cat knock on Gilbert's door and then slowly enter it…

"It's your own grave you're digging," she whispered and continued reading her book.

The cat simply rolled his eyes while closing the door behind him, then he gazed at Gilbert… The man had still been up, sitting on his bed and papers scattered around… so even now he was still working.

"It's late, you should go and sleep." Gilbert sighed while not even looking up from his papers.

The cat simply nodded sadly while walking to the side of his bed. He slowly sat down, making sure to not sit on any papers as he begged Gilbert mentally to look at him, so that he could see how sorry he was…

"If you're hungry I left some food for you, it's in the kitchen…"

I'm not… hungry.

Gilbert sighed once more and finally looked up, "What do you want? I'm busy right now."

I… I'm sorry!

But of course not a single word left his mouth even if he opened it, and this made Gilbert narrow his eyes, "You're sorry? If that's so, then just say it."

Huh?

"How much longer are you planning on playing the victim here? I know you're not weak… You made that clear by now."

Wha-?

"You've been lying the whole time, you can talk… But you're just hiding it, for whatever reason. Are you trying to make me feel stupid?"

No… I… I…

Gilbert simply looked back at the report he had been working on, deciding he no longer wanted to pay attention to the cat. If only he hadn't been so pissed, it was later that he felt like an idiot; it was because he had been tired after worrying so much, after waking up from the same nightmare from years ago and had decided to simply for Pandora… and the poor cat had been the victim of his bad mood.

The boy started trembling just slightly, scared of losing the one person that truly cared about him - the person that had always treated him like a human being instead of an animal or chain… He gently grabbed Gilbert's left hand, begging him to look at him… His eyes felt awfully dry, instead of crying they were dry. He tried opening his mouth, tried to say something… but his throat hurt. It was as if he had a lump in it and it hurt… hurt so badly. He had to ignore it - Gilbert deserved that at least. He just kept holding his hand, while Gilbert continued reading the reports. He stayed like that for minutes… trying to say anything… it took him a good seven minutes before finally-

"…I…" A soft sob as he lowered his head, forcing himself to say something… Everything hurt…

"….s…" It was as if his tongue felt too big for his own mouth, he was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Gilbert looking up; he didn't see the shock in his golden eyes as he saw the boy forcing the words out - eyes widened when the boy let his forehead rest on Gilbert's hand.

"…s…orr…y…" He couldn't even gulp, everything felt swollen and instead of dry eyes they suddenly started to water, eyes wet of unshed tears but he fought against them, not wanting to cry… He didn't deserve to be sad. After all, he had lied to him - had lied to everyone… only to save himself; only because he had been so scared of losing his own voice. He was a coward and he knew that and he felt pathetic for that.

Though, that didn't even cross Gilbert's mind right now. Instead he pulled his hand away from the trembling cat and put it under his chin, making the teen look up… looking into his watery eyes.

"You… you … talked…" He breathed. It had sounded painful - it had sounded more like awful sounds of an injured animal then actually words, but he had said 'sorry'… He had apologized, who would have thought the first words the cat would ever say to him would be an apology? He wasn't angry - no - all thoughts of being angry were easily gone as he started smiling… Never had he felt so happy. "So… you can… that's great! Right?"

Was it?

"Yes! That's absolutely… That's amazing. You have no idea how many times I wanted to hear your voice! Can-can you say something else?"

The cat just gazed at him with wide eyes and when he saw Gilbert looking at him, waiting for him to speak, he tried… He really did, but he just couldn't. Only an odd noise left his lips and he couldn't say anything… so he just kept mouthing 'sorry' while shaking his head and letting his head rest on Gil's shoulder. He really couldn't say anything else… He felt awful, sick, dizzy, disgusting… He didn't get why Gilbert even was so happy about hearing his voice as he sounded awful.

"I-It's fine… I'm sorry for saying these awful stuff," Gilbert sighed and pulled him into a hug.

"You… just scared me… don't do that ever again," he sighed and pulled the cat on his lap, gently stroking the trembling boy's hair while whispering calming words in his ear… "It's alright… It's alright," he spoke, until the cat actually felt asleep in his arms… so that Gilbert had to clean up his work and eventually fell asleep with the boy still in his arms, already looking forward to the boy talking normally…


End file.
